A civil court case to move an illegal squatter has been dropped now that Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner has ordered the defendant to stay off the property.Fifty-year-old Calvin Eugene Carmichael was told to move out of his tent on a vacant lot on Whaling Hill in Southampton on Monday or face being in violation of a two-year probation order.When contacted by The Royal Gazette, Ricky Woolridge,lawyer for the complainant, said: “I don’t know if he has collected his belongings as yet but he’s gone.” The defendant told the court on Monday that he had been living in a tent on the property in question for 14 years.He also cited a case involving the property and Mt Zion AME Church which he said “granted him rights to live on the property”. But the house on the property involved in that case has been sold.When asked what’s to become of men like Mr Carmichael, Mr Woolrdige replied: “As far as I know he used to be a truck driver, but I don’t know if he is still employed. If he didn’t choose to live rough there should be some helping agency to help get him back on his feet.“I wish him all the best, but in the interest of my client it’s best that he does not choose to live on her property,” he said.On the broader issue of squatters in Bermuda he said: “It’s a much bigger problem than we would choose to admit or imagine, particularly during these times.“People are having a really hard time out there right now and it’s a hidden problem because squatters hide. In recent years we’ve had people living in cars on Barker’s Hill and Palmetto Road near the bus terminal,” said Mr Woolridge.“I’m not talking about men choosing to live rough, I’m talking about women with young children sleeping in cars. It goes unnoticed partly because of pride — people don’t want to admit they are living rough, that’s a very big part of it.“Some may have been refused financial assistance or cannot get an apartment because of their reputation, it could be for a lot of reasons, but I believe it’s a big problem. We can’t continue to bury our heads in the sand because all we do then is expose our thinking parts,” he said.“I’m not a psychiatrist but I think it’s a shame that someone has to resort to living in trees, except for maybe a holiday weekend when they may choose to live rough. But in a country that is as affluent as Bermuda purports to be, the quality of life could only be measured by the quality of life of its poorest inhabitants, and this man has been roughing it for 14 years.“The question is whether or not he has chosen to live like that, but 14 years is a long time. If it is indeed of his own making then that’s a matter for him. But he’s got to make his choices in places where he is not going to get kicked off the property or moved around.“I don’t know why it took so long to get rid of him, but he’s gone,” said Mr Woolridge.The defendant admitted using threatening words on June 24 to the owner of the property, an 80-year-old woman. He also told the court that he had “an inalienable right to live somewhere”.Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner issued a probation order with orders for him to stay off lots 13, 19 and 23 on Whaling Hill in Southampton.